Oklahoma Senator gives back to her community through FCCLA.
THEN: She wasn’t planning a career, she just wanted sewing skills. Jessica Garvin said she learned to sew at Marlow High School, but the family and consumer sciences education program taught her much, much more.
Garvin joined Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, the CareerTech student organization affiliated with family and consumer sciences. Participation in FCCLA’s job interview competitions helped Garvin
- Speak more eloquently in public.
- Gain leadership and management skills.
- Become better organized.
- Interview new employees in her job as chief operations officer at a nursing home.
She said she also met incredible, lifelong friends in FCCLA, including fellow officers, advisers and classmates.
FACSED was Garvin’s only CareerTech experience In high school, but years later she said she wishes she had enrolled in a technology center program while she was there.
“I realize now what types of opportunities I missed by not taking advantage of CareerTech education in school!” she said.
Garvin did take advantage of CareerTech’s offerings after high school, attending Red River Technology Center in Duncan to get her medication administration technician certification, part of her journey toward her long-term administrator’s licenses.
She doesn’t make her living sewing, but Garvin’s involvement with FCCLA continues today. She helps students prepare for competitive events, and she mentors them through high school.
“Giving back to my community has improved my quality of life by providing opportunities for me to pay it forward,” she said.
NOW: Garvin was elected to the Oklahoma Senate in 2020 to represent Senate District 43. The University of Oklahoma graduate is COO at Gregston’s Nursing and Rehab in Marlow, Oklahoma. As an employer, she said, she understands the value of a CareerTech background.
“We utilize CareerTech graduates every day,” she said. “So many of them are wonderful, hardworking professionals with a strong work ethic and a desire to improve the lives of the people they serve.”
